Strengths and Weaknesses

HOLY TRINITY PARISH
ST. EDMOND CATHOLIC SCHOOLS
Long-Range Collaborative Plan (LRCP)

Planning Area A:
Catholic Identity and Mission
Strengths:
• Numbers are large.
• Strong school pride.
• Lots of activities for parish involvement.
• Parents, Grandparents, alumni all have pride in the school – carries into communication.
• Students are welcoming to other kids.
• Parish and school are more integrated than we realize.
• Parish and school have a history of a relationship. 
• Some people have good resources / benefactors.
• One bulletin.
• Radio Mass.
• Great priests and leaders.
• Welcoming / listening faith community.
• Sense of continuity with past generations – very clear.
• Ministers cross over at various worship sites.
• Generous – parish and school.

Weaknesses:
• Apathy – attendance and participation in activities.
• Serving disabled – poor facilities in all sites.
• More volunteers are needed.
• Same people involved.
• Poor involvement of kids in outlying sites and young adults (graduates).
• Access to networking is difficult.
• Faith festivals are not just for religious education – for St. Edmonds families too.
• Lack of understanding of faith festivals.
• Difficult for elderly and disabled to get to church.
• Friction over money (parish and school)
• Change serving disabilities – “some” sites not “all”

Planning Area B:
Administration & Finance

Strengths: (School)     
• Solvent
• Audit results positive.
• Finance committee
• Organization / communication
• Administration accountability
• Success of overall program
• Foundation success
• Community respect

Strengths: (Parish)
• Clergy
• Low-debt
• Parishioner involvement
• Administrative personnel
• Single parish – organizational structure
• Vision beyond local community.

Weaknesses: (School)
• Website
• Teacher pay scale
• Demographics
• Cultivate catholic community.
• Cultivate non-catholic community.
• Plan for boiler, windows, and etc.

Weaknesses: (Parish)
• Communication
• Technology / website
• Declining clergy availability.
• Demographics
• Facilities
• Infancy of parish organizational structure.

Opportunities: (School)
• One parish – attracts new students.
• Promote school’s academic success.
• Penetration of interdenominational and catholic community.

Opportunities: (Parish)
• Efficiencies / economics of scale
• Stewardship / development
• Leverage success.
• Change creates opportunity.

Threats: (School)
• Economic pressure
• Community college programs (exclusion)
• Changing younger family values (priorities).
• Demographics
• Clergy

Threats: (Parish)
• Clergy numbers
• Buildings
• Demographics
• Parishioner resistance
• Financial – church vs. school/priorities
• Loyalties, identification

Planning Area C:
Marketing & Communication

Strengths: (marketing)
• Listing new family members in bulletin.
• “Cross selling” – school has information about church and church has information about school.
• St. Edmonds Ball
• Summer Spirit Celebration
• Success of our students.
• Behavior of our students.
• Marquee

Strengths: (communication)
• More communication than in the past – communication is “evolving”.
• St. Edmond website
• Marquee
• Priests are good communicators from pulpit and in community.
• Priests take part in other churches.

Weaknesses: (marketing)
• Lack of priest role modeling for students – lack of visibility in the schools.
• Lack of collaboration with public school system.
• St. Edmond website – need virtual tour for prospective students and families.
• Marquee – who paid for it? Publicize

Weaknesses: (communication)
• Communicating is the success of our students (such as community service).
• No parish website.
• St. Edmond website not always current – not user friendly.
• Lack of combined parish / school website.
• Talking from pulpit – participation-communication
• Priest more visible in classroom
• Public vs. Catholic – better with kids than parents (getting along)

Opportunities:
• Creation of joint St. Edmond and parish website.
• Every parishioner should be proud of and communicate positively about church and school.
• Better use of St. Edmond marquee for both school and parish.
• School and parish need to work more closely together.

Threats:
• Misperception that you have to be rich to go to St. Edmond.
• Public vs. Catholic
• Rumors and lack of clear communication.
• Communication needs to be clear and in layman terms.
• Reduction in number of priest.
• Priest/abuse scandals
• Lack of youth involvement in church.
o College age and young adults
• Social status / last name leads to special privileges/ treatment.
Planning Area D:
Facilities

Strengths:
• One site school
• Multi-site worship centers
• Architecture
• School structure sound
• Parish buildings structural sound
• Excess buildings
• Four gym sites
• Access to property
• Visible sites in communities
• History of the church and pride
• The school as a whole

Weaknesses:
• Aging structures on all sites
o Infrastructure - 2
o Utilities
• Lack of Priests
• Logistics
• Costs – overhead
• Not handicap accessible at all sites.
• Pushing for short-term savings causing long-term problems.
• Lack of a unified plan
• Dwindling population
• Land lock for growth
• Excess buildings
• Multiple site worship centers
• Too many buildings

Opportunities:
• Opportunities for urban renewal in some neighborhoods.
• Value of the Assets to sell
• Single site church
• Improve worship
• Catholic campus
o Retirement center
o School
o Church
• Modernize

Threats:
• Aging population
• Lack of vision
• Division amongst parish
o School
o Ages
o Rural vs. City
• Loss of parishioners
• Lack of money
• Aging buildings

Planning Area E:
Spiritual Life

Strengths:
• Becoming one parish family.
• A lot of opportunity for involvement.
• Anger and frustration of smaller parishes who have dissolved
• Four priests
• Gone out to our community to look at needs and added a Spanish Mass.
• Fact that we have a rising and growing Catholic school.
• Involvement of Kicks Jesse Tree project.
• Way school reaches out to nursing homes and staying active in the parishes – which shows the strength of the faith community – a list of kids involved.
• Right to Life – prayer in chapel – strength for students.
• Faith tradition has passed down through generations and yet stayed open to changes of Vatican II.
• The journey and acceptance of smaller parishes who have dissolved
• Involvement of KICKS (keeping the intentions of Christ in kids Spiritually program)
• 4 priests

Weaknesses:
• Do not utilize all of our strengths with in our system.
• Religious Education opportunities outside of St. Edmonds are limited.
• No Mass participation for religious education students available.
• No religious people on staff other than Sister – who is in charge?
• Young people do not feel they know enough about catholic activities / doctrines / traditions.
o Need full–time youth director or full-time director of R.E. and youth director.
• Opportunities for involvement need to be strengthened.
• No Deacon
• Parents putting religious training responsibilities on school or religious education programs.
• Religious education students prefer CCD classes not faith festivals.
o Broke down by ages
o CCD more social.
• Young life – non-denominational – needs more involvement and support.
• Need more reconciliation services at school or more opportunity.
o Twice a year is not enough
o Like Mcfession’s drive thru confession.
• Need more for young adult’s involvement.
• Need something to invite those who don’t attend Masses or participate in their faith. (outreach)
• Need more prayer, spiritually based groups for young adults.
• Need more activities for preschool ages.

Opportunities:
• Utilize the talents that are already present to strengthen spirituality.
• Publicly ask people to come back to their faith – let people know they are always welcome.
• Director of Religious Education to help coordinate the activities.
• Opportunity to socialize after Masses (coffee/donuts)
• Bring back children’s liturgy Masses.
• Priests sharing a children’s homily
• Invite people to participate

Threats:
• May not have four Priests.
• Financial threat of expenses associated with buildings.
• Provide spiritual life opportunities at all sites.
• Musicians at some sites.
• People not following through on their commitments.
• We are what we learn from our parents – if we do not have strong traditions – how do we pass them on?
• People are so busy – need to get them back to at least the one hour of Mass each week. Society activities are challenging our faith.
• Losing members to other faiths – as they have a need to be evangelized. They offer more of what we are lacking.
• Step out of our routines – Allow the Holy Spirit to work.
• If church and school move further apart, we could lose our strengths:                           
“United we Stand, Divided we Fall”

Planning Area F:
Personnel

Strengths:
• Staff is committed.
• Competitive Benefits
• Hire qualified teachers – correct certification.
• Teachers are allowed to teach.
• Discipline supports teachers.
• Teachers are supported by the families.
• We have a strong sense of team at the parish.
• Spirit of camaraderie at parish
• Benefits are similar.
• H.T. are members of parish.
• Value being in a faith environment.

Weaknesses:
• Benefits need to be similar.
• Competitive salaries for teachers and parish staff
• Visibility of priests at school activities.
• Positions not filled because of lack of funds – youth minister and campus ministry.
• Religion department in school
• Evaluations
• Continue Religious Education
• Lack of substitute teachers

Opportunities:
• Campus Minister
• Youth animator for catholic communication.
o More public schools involved.
o For St. Edmond students
• Shared positions that have the same sets of skills (finance, technology)
• Welcome early retirement teachers.
• Accept help / wisdom from retired experts.
• Deacons
• One location for school.
• Use “strength finders” to invite people into ministries.
• Create a Parish Directory for H.T.P.
• Recognizing new parish members.
• School relationship invites people to parish

Threats:
• Loss of religious.
• Changing accreditation requirements by Department of Education
• Shortage of teachers in core area.
o Science  
o Math
o Foreign language
o Music
• Gap between public teacher’s salaries and St. Edmond salaries increasing.
• Fewer priests – number of priest to retire.
• Getting young people to come to Fort Dodge.
• Economy
• Demographics
• Stewardship impacts personnel.

Planning Area G:
Stewardship & Development

Strengths: (Parish)
• 70% of parishioners are monetary contributors.
• Creation of Stewardship committee.
• Appoint of Development Director.
• Consolidation of financial statement and elimination of duplication.
• Foundation capital (3.6 Million)
• Planned giving vehicle.
• Good core group – volunteers.

Strengths: (School)
• Forward thinkers (scripts)
• Innovative strategies
• Aggressive / passionate booster clubs and involvement
• Excellent alumni, staff, parent, student, community.
• Facility – one site.
• Successful system.
• Development office and director.
• Visible active student body.
• Sizeable endowments.

Weaknesses: (Parish)
• Lack of significant giving by majority.
• Weekly envelope giving is trending downward.
• Church attendance and parish participation is lower in youth members.
• Lack of organizations at parish levels (development efforts, comprehensive plan)
• Unknown of future parish plans.
• Lack of a single sight.

Weaknesses: (School)
• Decreased or fluctuating enrollment.
• Rising tuition.
• Failure to inform public (school and church) how tuition is being levied/footed.

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